Word Nerd: January
While some revel in the Christmas season I am all for the New Year. New digits on the paystub, closer to spring, which means closer to June, which means summer break!
Celebrating the joy of the new year requires presenting a menu of festive, inspiring words that ring out the gladness of a new, and it’s hoped, better year.
proceleusmatic: inciting, animating, or inspiring
sweven: a vision; dream
pandiculation: the act of stretching oneself especially on waking
pulchritudinous: physically beautiful
perorate: to speak at length; make a long usually grandiloquent speech
Fletcherize: to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly
celerity: swiftness; speed
irrefragable: not to be disputed or contested
chuffle: to make a low snuffling sound analogous to the purring of smaller cat species, often as a greeting
heigira: any flight or journey to a more desirable or congenial place
mickle: great; large; much
prelapsarian: characteristic of or pertaining to any innocent or carefree period
rapprochement: an establishment or reestablishment of harmonious relations
yclept: called; named
azure: of or having a light, purplish shade of blue, like that of a clear and unclouded day
evanesce: to disappear gradually; vanish; fade away
hiemal: of or relating to winter; wintry
cavort: to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner; make merry
A broad range of words, ’tis true. Yet January can be a month of variance. There is the hiemal aspect, the evanesce of snow, it’s hoped, unless a new snowfall creates a mickle of the white muck, which generates a heigira urge for sunnier locale. Once January’s snows lessen, the landscape becomes more pulchritudinous as azure skies beckon overhead leading to prelapsarian attitude, although some would state the new year still holds over the old winter. Aye, that fact is irrefragable; however, a proceleusmatic sweven inspires the need towards pandiculation of outlook. Spring is closer in January than it was in November and I shall indeed cavort when the last snowflake falls. I might even chuffle once January’s page is turned aside to welcome February. Longer days and Valentines to anticipate create the need to Fletcherize in preparation to perorate upon the celerity of winter’s passing.
May your January and the meeting of the new year be one of rapprochement since the first month of the year was named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings. A fitting yclept month as January is the doorway to the rest of the year.
Pam Webb 